Overview of Florida First Degree Murder LawsHomicide, the unlawful killing of a human being, includes several degrees of murder and manslaughter under the state laws of Florida. The type of homicide determines the prosecutor's requirements and the potential punishment in the event of a conviction. First degree murder, the most serious of the homicide charges available under Florida law, includes premeditated killings, felony murders, and murders committed during specified drug dealing offenses.

For a charge of first degree murder based on a premeditated killing, the prosecutor must show the defendant's specific intent to kill. The prosecutor often must establish an advance plan or design formed to carry out the homicide. To establish premeditation, the prosecutor may need to present evidence about the defendant's activities or steps taken to prepare for the killing.

Florida requires the prosecution of "felony murder," which also leads to a first degree murder charge, when the defendant commits homicide while during the commission of a specified felony or an attempt to carry out a felony. State laws include a list of felonies that qualify a homicide as first degree murder. These felonies include burglary, home-invasion robbery, kidnapping, sexual battery, and many other offenses, including the murder of another person. While the prosecutor must prove that the defendant intended to participate in the underlying felony, the state can proceed with the charge even if the defendant did not personally perform the killing.

Lastly, Florida state laws specify first degree murder for a homicide caused by drug dealing and the unlawful distribution of controlled substances. The drug-related offenses must involve controlled substances specified by state law, including cocaine and opium. For example, if a victim dies from a drug overdose, the state might try to prosecute the drug distributor on a charge of first degree murder.

"Sometime after leaving work that Friday, Rodgers traveled more than 1,100 miles south, where his probation officer said he was spotted at a Walmart store in Fort Myers on Sunday, June 28. The next morning, Sievers was found dead inside her Bonita Springs home."

9/30/2015 - ORDER: Comes now the court and hereby orders that the Sheriff of Jefferson County may now transfer custody to the State of Florida. SO ORDERED: TIMOTHY S. MILLER, ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGE DIV. FOURTEEN

_________________Do not go gentle into that good night.___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light